BANJA LUKA, June 20 (Hina) - Pope John Paul II arrives in the Bosnian Serb capital of Banja Luka on Sunday on his 101st pastoral visit in 25 years of pontificate.
BANJA LUKA, June 20 (Hina) - Pope John Paul II arrives in the Bosnian
Serb capital of Banja Luka on Sunday on his 101st pastoral visit in
25 years of pontificate. #L#
The pope should spend ten hours in Banja Luka, during which he is set
to meet top Bosnia-Herzegovina officials and celebrate mass on the
ruins of the Petricevac monastery at which at least 35,000 faithful
are expected.
The pontiff will beatify Ivan Merz of Banja Luka. This deserving
promoter of Catholicism will become the first Croat lay believer to
be beatified.
John Paul II is coming to Bosnia for the second time, the first visit
having taken place in Sarajevo in 1997.
The pope had planned to visit Sarajevo in 1994, when the Bosnian
capital was under siege, but the trip was cancelled at the last
minute because Bosnian Serb troops refused to guarantee safety for
the aeroplane that was to have flown the pope.
"I am going to Bosnia-Herzegovina to confirm the good intentions of
the Catholic community engaged on the road to reconciliation and
concord," John Paul II said in the Vatican on Wednesday.
Banja Luka has not been chosen randomly as the destination of the
pontiff's 101st pastoral trip. It is a city and diocese on which the
1990s war left the deepest scars within the Catholic community,
which today numbers 50,000 faithful. Twice as many were forced to
leave their homes during the war and have not been able to come
back.
Statistics show that 204 churches, monasteries, chapels, and
cemeteries were damaged during the war in the Banja Luka diocese, of
which 56 were razed to the ground.
Local bishop Franjo Komarica, who holds the credit for having
helped Catholics preserve their community, sees the pope's arrival
as a sign of encouragement and hope.
During the visit, Banja Luka will take the maturity test, Komarica
has said, alluding to the need to finally listen to the Holy
Father's words and set about building the culture of peace.
Dragan Covic, the Croat member of Bosnia's state presidency and
head of the committee organising the pope's visit, has told Hina the
visit will encourage all citizens because it will open the way to
reconciliation and forgiving.
Covic expects the pope will support the bolstering of Bosnia's
stability, which Covic says is fundamental for the stability of the
region, as well as advocate the return of all to pre-war homes, and
support Bosnia's drawing closer to the European Union.
Bosnian authorities have to assume the responsibility for
everything the pope will point to, Covic has said.
(hina) ha